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American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California Inc at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California Inc

The american civil liberties union foundation of northern california (aclu nc foundation) defends and advances the principles of freedom, equality and justice contained in the united states constitution.

$725k
Granted FY2025still arriving
1
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$725k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Civil Rights$13MCrime & Legal$1.2MEducation$244kPublic Benefit$39kHuman Services$25kCommunity Improvement$10k
02FY2025 · 1 grant

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$725,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$49M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
ACLU UNION OF NORTHERN CA$725,000
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Its human-services grants (FY18–22, $197k) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 37% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%Silicon Valley De-Bug: $25k → 8%IMMIGRANT LEGAL RESOURCES CEN: $20k → 10%Center for Policy Initiatives: $19k → 11%Empowerment Collective of LI: $25k → 7%SILICON VALLEY DE-BUG: $20k → 8%IMMIGRANT LEGAL RESOURCES CEN: $20k → 10%SILICON VALLEY DE-BUG: $20k → 8%IMMIGRANT LEGAL RESOURCES CEN: $15k → 10%Silicon Valley De-Bug: $19k → 8%SILICON VALLEY DE-BUG: $15k → 8%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

97%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$14M · 19 repeat orgs$481k to everyone else

19 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2025, 18 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

19
22

Total granted

$14M
$481k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+16%
+79%

Still filing today

95%
86%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Civil RightsCrime & LegalCommunity ImprovementHuman ServicesEducationHealthOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INC
    5× · 2017–2022 · $6.3M · revenue +102%
  • AC
    AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
    8× · 2018–2025 · $4.4M · revenue +13%
  • NC
    NORTHERN CALIFORNIA INDIAN DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL INC
    2× · 2020–2021 · $261k · revenue +9%

Funded once

  • CALIFORNIA IMMIGRANT POLICY CENTERgraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $65k · revenue +125%
  • AF
    ACLU FOUNDATION OF SAN DIEGO & IMPERIAL COUNTIES
    one grant, 2019 · $40k · revenue +17%
  • WT
    WIYOT TRIBE
    one grant, 2022 · $40k
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Jobs with Justice San Francisco

A long-term, strategic alliance of labor, community, faith-based, and student organizations working together to build greater economic power for workers and community members through employee rights at work and access to good jobs,…

Employment
2
Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area

As one of the most enduring civil rights institutions on the West Coast, we work to dismantle systems of oppression and racism, and build an equitable and just society.

—
3
American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California Inc

The american civil liberties union foundation of northern california (aclu nc foundation) defends and advances the principles of freedom, equality and justice contained in the united states constitution. aclu nc foundation, a california…

—
4
California Donor Table

California Donor Table anchors a hub of donors, foundations, and community leaders. We pool together our resources to shape California into a truly democratic state that works for the people, not the powerful. Rooted in our commitment to…

Civil Rights
5
California Center for Movement Legal Services

The California Center for Movement Legal Services (Movement Legal) provides legal services in the pursuit of improving the lives of California's traditionally underserved residents, carrying out legal work that fosters community led policy…

Crime & Legal
6
Inner City Law Center

In 2024, Inner City Law Center, ICLC, served over 3,400 people, helping vulnerable Angelenos to remain in their homes and recover nearly $20.5 million in financial benefits.

Crime & Legal
7
Legal Aid Association of California

The Legal Aid Association of California, the statewide membership of legal services nonprofits, serves its members through advocacy and other support in efforts to provide legal assistance to low-income Californians and ensure access to…

—
8
California Forward

Ca fwd drives action to identify solutions that can be taken to scale to meet the challenges the state is facing. the organization is driven by the belief that regional solutions across the state will help ensure economic, environmental,…

Public Benefit
9
American Civil Liberties Union of Texas Inc

The ACLU of Texas works with communities, at the State Capitol, and in the courts to protect and advance civil rights and civil liberties for every Texan, no exceptions.

—
10
Legal Link

Legal Link removes legal barriers that prolong poverty by adding critically needed capacity to the legal ecosystem.

Crime & Legal
11
American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California

See schedule o for detailsthe organization defends the civil liberties enshrined in the us constitution and the bill of rights through policy advocacy, media advocacy, and organizing. it fights to secure and protect the civil rights of all…

—
12
First Amendment Coalition

The first amendment coalition protects and promotes a free press, freedom of expression and the people's right to know. continued on schedule o.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Aclu Foundation of Southern California; the most unlike its peers is California Lgbtq Foundation. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

41 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 41 of the 44 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
11
Early backer (in before they grew)
40/41
Grantees still filing
30/41
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INC: $6,260,000 · Civil RightsAMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INCACLU FOUNDATION OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: $1,645,198 · Civil RightsACLU FOUNDATION OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA+5 more: $101,000 · Civil RightsAMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA: $4,375,000 · OtherAMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF NORTHER…NORTHERN CALIFORNIA INDIAN DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL INC: $260,600 · Other+14 more: $613,500 · Other+14 moreMOVEMENT STRATEGY CENTER: $142,000 · Community ImprovementFAITH IN THE VALLEY: $85,000 · Community ImprovementCOMMUNITY PARTNERS: $28,500 · Community ImprovementFAITH IN ACTION NETWORK: $10,000 · Community ImprovementASIAN AMERICANS ADVANCING JUSTICE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: $85,000 · Crime & LegalEAST BAY COMMUNITY LAW CENTER: $60,000 · Crime & LegalFresno Barrios Unidos: $35,000 · Crime & LegalLEGAL SERVICES FOR CHILDREN INC: $30,000 · Crime & LegalAsian Law Caucus: $16,500 · Crime & LegalSilicon Valley De-Bug: $98,000 · Human ServicesIMMIGRANT LEGAL RESOURCE CENTER: $55,000 · Human ServicesEMPOWERMENT COLLABORATIVE OF LONG ISLAND INC: $25,000 · Human ServicesCENTER ON POLICY INITIATIVES: $18,500 · Human ServicesSOCIAL GOOD FUND INC: $75,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: $46,000 · EducationAMERICAN CONSTITUTION SOCIETY FOR LAW & POLICY: $20,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY FOUNDATION: $20,000 · EducationCALIFORNIA LGBTQ FOUNDATION: $18,000 · EducationACCE Institute: $10,000 · EducationA NEW WAY OF LIFE REENTRY PROJECT: $75,000 · HealthCHINESE PROGRESSIVE ASSOCIATION: $60,000 · Health
Civil Rights$8,006,198Other$5,249,100Community Improvement$265,500Crime & Legal$226,500Human Services$196,500Education$189,000Health$135,000

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetAMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INC: $6,260,000 over 5y, 1.7% of budgetAMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA: $4,375,000 over 8y, 9.5% of budgetACLU FOUNDATION OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: $1,645,198 over 7y, 6.2% of budgetNORTHERN CALIFORNIA INDIAN DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL INC: $260,600 over 2y, 3.2% of budgetMOVEMENT STRATEGY CENTER: $142,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetSilicon Valley De-Bug: $98,000 over 5y, 2.3% of budgetSTARTING OVER INC: $95,000 over 5y, 1.2% of budgetSACRAMENTO AREA CONGREGATIONS TOGETHER: $93,500 over 5y, 3.1% of budgetASIAN AMERICANS ADVANCING JUSTICE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: $85,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetFAITH IN THE VALLEY: $85,000 over 3y, 2.0% of budgetSOCIAL GOOD FUND INC: $75,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetCONGREGATIONS ORGANIZED FOR PROPHETIC ENGAGEMENT: $75,000 over 4y, 3.1% of budgetA NEW WAY OF LIFE REENTRY PROJECT: $75,000 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetFathers and Families of San Joaquin: $73,500 over 4y, 0.9% of budgetCALIFORNIA IMMIGRANT POLICY CENTER: $65,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetEAST BAY COMMUNITY LAW CENTER: $60,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetCHINESE PROGRESSIVE ASSOCIATION: $60,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetIMMIGRANT LEGAL RESOURCE CENTER: $55,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: $46,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetACLU FOUNDATION OF SAN DIEGO & IMPERIAL COUNTIES: $40,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetNetwork on Women in Prison dba Legal Services for Prisoners w Children: $40,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetCOMMON CAUSE EDUCATION FUND: $39,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetFresno Barrios Unidos: $35,000 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetLEGAL SERVICES FOR CHILDREN INC: $30,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetTHE JUSTICE AND DIVERSITY CENTER OF THE BAR ASSOCIATION OF SAN FRANCISCO: $30,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetCOMMUNITY PARTNERS: $28,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTIDES FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetEMPOWERMENT COLLABORATIVE OF LONG ISLAND INC: $25,000 over 1y, 19% of budgetAMERICAN CONSTITUTION SOCIETY FOR LAW & POLICY: $20,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY FOUNDATION: $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetURBAN STRATEGIES COUNCIL: $18,500 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetCENTER ON POLICY INITIATIVES: $18,500 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetCALIFORNIA LGBTQ FOUNDATION: $18,000 over 1y, 3.3% of budgetAsian Law Caucus: $16,500 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetEqual Justice Society: $10,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetACCE Institute: $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetFAITH IN ACTION NETWORK: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetDISABILITY RIGHTS CALIFORNIA: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetChinese for Affirmative Action: $6,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

The California Endowm…The California Wellne…The James Irvine Foun…The San Francisco Fou…East Bay Community Fo…Sierra Health Foundat…Tides FoundationSilicon Valley Commun…Kaiser Foundation Hos…The Heising-Simons Fo…California Community …Tides Center
The California EndowmentCA37.9× affinity17 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The California Endowment · The California Wellness Foundation · The James Irvine Foundation · The San Francisco Foundation · East Bay Community Foundation · Sierra Health Foundation Center for Health Program Management · Tides Foundation · Silicon Valley Community Foundation · Kaiser Foundation Hospitals · The Heising-Simons Foundation · California Community Foundation · Tides Center

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    14report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    typical government reliance, FY20–25
    How this is measured
    Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.

    On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 44 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

    How this is measured
    Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

    Generated from the IRS Form 990 e-file return for fiscal year 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California’s filings →

    More from the funding graph

    The unnamed billions
    grants reported with no recipient in the public record
    The regranting layer
    51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
    The DAF merry-go-round
    $9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
    The endowment market
    who holds foundation money, and what just moved
    The camps
    funders cluster by geography, not ideology
    By state
    where grant money is based, and what stays home